Installing Lensmith

Lensmith is distributed directly — not through the App Store — and is currently a private beta. First-time setup takes a minute; here is the whole of it.

1. 1

   Download & install

   Download the latest Lensmith .dmg from the home page. Open the disk image, then drag Lensmith into your Applications folder.

   Requires macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later.

2. 2

   Open it past the macOS security gate

   Because Lensmith is distributed outside the App Store, macOS Gatekeeper warns the first time you open it (“Apple could not verify Lensmith is free of malware”). This is expected — you only need to allow it once.

   macOS 15 Sequoia

   Double-click Lensmith and dismiss the warning. Open  menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, and click “Open Anyway” next to Lensmith. Confirm with Touch ID or your password.

   macOS 14 Sonoma

   Control-click (or right-click) Lensmith in Applications, choose Open, then click Open in the dialog.

   Still blocked? Removing the download quarantine flag from Terminal forces it open:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Lensmith.app
3. 3

   Enter your invite code

   On first launch Lensmith shows the Private Beta screen. Paste your invite code into the “Invite code” field and click Continue.

   The code is checked once (it needs an internet connection). After that, this Mac is remembered and Lensmith won't ask again.

   Don't have a code yet? Get in touch — codes are issued by hand.

macOS 14.6 or later · All versions